AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack (guest review)

Wes: Well, yeah, if you love AC/DC. Or if you just can’t get enough Rock Band. Fortunately, I at least fall into the second category.

P: I’m with you on the Rock Band fan bus. I’m also an AC/DC fan, though I prefer their earlier stuff. Thankfully, this has a good selection of old and new songs. Plus it’s a live concert, so it’s got that going for it.

W: I like that Rock Band has been doing more with live tracks, including the handful of songs byThe Who that got released earlier this summer. But the problem with this AC/DC set is that, while you get all the awesome solos and raspy screaming, you also get 15-minute epics and lulls during those marathons. I think I might have fallen asleep during “Jailbreak.”
Scusaby Flickr user [parentesi quadre] under Creative Commons license
P: My interest in the live tracks started to wane after the first two-minute “closing jam” and disappeared almost completely after the fourth one. I was playing drums during “Jailbreak,” and at one point I think I struck the snare once every 6 seconds for what seemed like five minutes. Do these guys know how to end a song? I think live tracks are good if we’re talking about good songs, but 18 straight AC/DC tracks just drove me crazy after a while.

W: A fine point. However, it should be noted that some of these tracks are just plain fun to play, no matter the instrument. “Hells Bells,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” and “You Shook Me All Night Long” are all that you could hope for, even if the Big Endings are really big. But again, unless you really love AC/DC, there’s no reason this couldn’t have just been a downloadable 3- or 6-song set. Instead, you’ve gotta drop a pretty penny at — you guessed it — Wal-Mart.

P: True that. There is no doubt AC/DC has some rockin’ tunes, and most, if not all, are included on this disc. Until they release Bagpipe Hero, I’ll just have to imagine playing “It’s A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll).” Are you listening, Harmonix, EA and MTV? I want my Bagpipe Hero!
Another knock against the game, albeit a minor one: Why can’t we play as the members of AC/DC? In Guitar Hero World Tour, Ted Nugent, Zakk Wylde and Sting are represented. In GH Aerosmith, we got the whole band. Slash, Tom Morello and Satan himself all made appearances. So why no ill-fitting schoolboy uniform?

W: Hey, speak for yourself on the uniform. I can rock those shorts in a way Angus Young can only dream of, bagpipes or not. But you’re right about the band being M.I.A. on stage during the game. In fact, as far as I could tell, there were no unlockables, no shops, no character creation modes, no concert footage — nothing. I mean, it’s cool that I can export these songs to my hard drive and play them in Rock Band 2, but is that really worth $40 (again, to Wal-Mart) if that’s all I’m getting? I say no.

P: Sadly, I think you are correct. If there was more to the game (unlockables, etc.) or the price was lower, I’d be wholeheartedly endorsing it. As it is, however, I’m inclined to give it a C. When you can buy The Who pack, which was 12 songs, all of them good, for about $20, this track pack looks like less of a deal. Now, if they make some available for download, I’d be all over about six of them. But not the whole thing.

W: It’s not like you’re getting any revolutionary gameplay here, either. The songs can get pretty challenging, especially the solos, but it’s still Rock Band. You’re just powering through a live set of AC/DC, beating the songs in the order they were played at the actual concert. Honestly, this game is about as frilly as a cardboard tablecloth. In all, I’d say it’s pretty fitting that you can’t spell “AC/DC Live Rock Band Track Pack” without a C. Five of them, in fact.